Former Phillie Daulton diagnosed with brain tumors

PHILADELPHIA – Darren Daulton, the dashing heart and soul of the 1993 Phillies, has become the latest longtime Phillie from the Veterans Stadium era to encounter a fight for his life via brain tumors.

An announcement by 97.5 FM The Fanatic, where Daulton hosts an early-evening radio program, said that Daulton went to a doctor after not feeling well for the past two weeks, and two tumors were found. He will undergo surgery early next week. Reports said that one of the tumors is inoperable.

Phillies president David Montgomery released a statement in reaction to the news: “We’re saddened by the news about Darren. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family at this time. We, along with our fans, are praying for a full recovery.”

This would be a more shocking episode if the Phillies hadn’t become strangely familiar with former players fighting battles against brain tumors.

First, John Vukovich shook the Phillies organization and the tightknit professional baseball circles in 2001 when he left the third-base coach’s box to have surgery and radiation therapy to treat a brain tumor. He would return to the field, but five years later the tumor returned. Vukovich, who spent more than two decades of his baseball career with the Phillies at Veterans Stadium, died in 2007.

In the spring of 2003, during the time Vukovich was in remission from his first trial with the tumor, Tug McGraw was with the organization in spring training when he was rushed to a Clearwater, Fla., hospital with severe headaches. McGraw had surgery to remove the tumor, but it quickly returned in inoperable form. Ironically, his last public appearance came in late September of that year at an emotional farewell to the Vet. McGraw, who pitched for 10 years with the Phillies at Veterans Stadium, died Jan. 5, 2004.

Daulton spent all but the final two months of his 14-year major-league career playing for the Phillies between 1983-97. A three-time All-Star at catcher, he finished sixth in the N.L. Most Valuable Player voting in 1992 and seventh in 1993, as he had a combined 51 homers and 214 RBIs in those two seasons. Daulton was a finalist for the Phillies’ managerial vacancy in 2001, but Larry Bowa was granted the job. In 2010 he was honored with induction into the Phillies Wall of Fame.

The Phillies made an interesting trade, acquiring veteran, light-hitting infielder John McDonald from the Cleveland Indians for a player to be named later or cash. McDonald, 38, was 2-for-38 this season for the Pirates and Indians, and has been getting used to being dealt for that open-ended exchange. This spring the Diamondbacks sent him to the Buccos for future considerations. Earlier this month he went from Pittsburgh to Cleveland for the same.

Why, you ask, did the Phillies make this deal? Well, odds are high that when McDonald joins the Phils in Los Angeles today, Freddy Galvis will be optioned to Triple-A so the young infielder can get some playing time. It also could be foreshadowing for a team that has two very tradable commodities in second baseman Chase Utley and third baseman Michael Young, both of whom are free agents next season. There is a less likely possibility the Phillies could trade shortstop Jimmy Rollins, but with two more years at $11 million per season remaining on his contract, and 10-and-5 rights at Rollins’ disposal to approve or disapprove of any deal, it bruises the appeal.